Duffner’s Background Showed
October 22nd, 2018
Saved the season?
Jenna Laine of ESPN has the money information.
While the Bucs defense wasn’t that great in the fourth quarter — a two-touchdown lead vanished — the defense pitched a shutout in the first half. Joe is blown away typing that correct sentence.
This is the same defense which made Mitch Trubisky look like Dan Marino.
This is the same defense that couldn’t stop Drew Brees from, well, from anything he wanted to do in the opening week.
This is the same defense that rolled over for Matty Ice who only needed seconds on a drive to score.
Yet against the Browns, the defense held Baker Mayfield and Company out of the end zone for the opening half. The highlight of the defensive play was a beautiful goal-line stand in the fourth quarter where the Bucs’ defense was so elated they pulled a P.J. Fleck and rowed an imaginary boat on the field.
(The former Bucs wide receivers coach and current University of Minnesota head coach has a motto “Row the Boat,” much like former Bucs defensive line coach Rod Marinelli’s famous “Pound the Rock.”)
If Joe would have told you two weeks ago the Bucs would have a goal-line stand against a talented mobile quarterback with a solid running game, you would have Baker Act’ed Joe.
It was the debut of Bucs new defensive coordinator Mark Duffner and Joe thinks it is safe to say Duffner and his defense bailed out the Bucs Sunday.
Well, Laine reports (you can watch the video below) that Duffner used some zone blitzing. This was evident when fans noticed Jason Pierre-Paul and Carl Nassib pulling back in pass coverage.
Earlier in the week, Joe wondered how much of an influence Dick LeBeau was on Duffner. LeBeau hired Duffner to his first NFL gig as a linebackers coach when LeBeau was defensive coordinator in Cincinnati. Later when LeBeau was named head coach of the Bengals, he promoted Duffner to defensive coordinator.
Well, it was in Cincinnati, where LeBeau developed what is now known as the zone blitz. He took that to Pittsburgh where he turned the Steelers into “Blitzburgh.”
So per Laine’s information, Duffner very much used LeBeau’s influence with the Bucs yesterday. And Duffner and his defense helped the Bucs get a critical win that may have saved the season and in turn, jobs throughout the organization.
For now.
The Bucs’ 26-23 win Sunday may have come against the Browns and not an offensive juggernaut like the Falcons, but some of the changes made under Mark Duffner indicate that things could be headed in the right direction. https://t.co/bpnH7W3ryu pic.twitter.com/aWMcClUBqE
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) October 22, 2018
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:20 am
It’s one game but it did feel different. Having a DEFENSIVE coach interacting with the players during the game is better than someone sitting in a booth removed from the players. Alright for offense but not defense. 10 games to go. Let’s see what we look like in the middle of December!!
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:32 am
Geraldine McBooty not playing made way for others to play. And boy did it make a difference. I can see it now… 4th and goal 1yd line….. Geraldine subs in…. he high 5’s his line mates in the huddle…. Baker Mayfield notices McBooty is on the field. He checks at the line and confidently calls out 93′ 93′ and points at 93… Chubb yells out… “here I come BISH”…. hike… Chubb runs over Geraldine… Chubb begins to dance in the end zone… the camera points to McBooty… and he is shown with his big dumb smile dancing behind Chubb celebrating with him. Geraldine slaps Chubb on the helmet in celebration and commences to apologize to Chubb for rolling his ankle as Chubb ran him over and stomped on his chest on his way to the end zone.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:37 am
Damn ray rice bringing the truth tonight. Hopefully the crying clown has played his last gsme as a buc
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:50 am
Loved seeing Duff down there on the playing field yellin at his players exhorting them on. When Smitty was up in the pressbox mapping out the weather with his telescope, the Defensive players felt no pressure from him. And yes, Our Defense actually got off the field several times. I promised myself I would pour myself a shot of tequila everytime they did. Needless to say, I got..slightly enibriated!!
If our De can continue to improve, we will win some games. But its gotta keep improving. Now who’s gonna step in for Qwon? Keep’em hungry Duff and keep..coachin’em up!! Nissib is lookin like a great find.
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:04 am
No
Every time GMC doesn’t play we are better
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:12 am
I think the Bucs should shop D-Jack & McCoy. Of course when McCoy is healthy. This should be Grimes last year & they should think twice before giving D. Smith a huge contract. Also they need a RG, since Bennoch is not the answer. I’d rather see E Smith starting. Not a big upgrade but better than the alternative unless Cappa is ready.
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:19 am
I thought the tighter coverage was a big factor, and I liked the zone blitz concepts. I hope we can carry this progress over to the next game and in to 4 straight quarters. I also, want to see how we play w/o GMC. He could be trade bait if we play well.
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:24 am
I sure didn’t see any drop off with McCoy not playing.
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:24 am
Ray Rice – I am with you 100%. I find it interesting that on the day that McCoy is on the sidelines in his batman pajamas, we come up with 5 sacks and our best defensive performance of the year. Sure, we had a new coach. But the hell with McCoy. To hear him say “Sorry, Ben” when he hit him on Monday night football, I had enough. I hope he is out again this week. Weakstick. “Sorry Ben”
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:29 am
defense looked much better…..they looked like they knew what to do and when to do it…..
the offense is a different story…..still no run game since dirk has became HC…..Winston still hasn’t taken the next step under dirk…..play calling and clock management still piss poor….they should’ve ran a bootleg with Winston instead of getting a safety….that was a horrible play call….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:32 am
trade GMC and djax and run more 2TE sets…..
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:37 am
One more try…I agree with Ray Rice. No McCoy yesterday and we come up with 5 sacks and our best defensive effort of the year. Yes, it was the Clowns and we had a new defensive coordinator. But I reached my fill of McCoy when he hollered “Sorry, Ben” as he was hitting him on MNF. Give me a break. Let him stand on the sideline and watch with his Batman pajamas on. He’s soft. I hope him and his salary are gone next year. “Sorry Ben!”
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:38 am
That first week does not count at all because the browns had no idea what type of defensive schemes they would face, they adjusted very well in the second half and now there’s tape so we’ll see what happens this week. Lights out first half though unfortunately I couldn’t get excited because we can never expect a full game out of these players
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:40 am
They did better
But it’s only one game
It’s still early
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:40 am
GMC is the past and not the future. Trade him, Spence and DJax (since he’s being wasted with JW at QB) grab a guard to plug into the Oline as Benenoch and Smith are subpar or another LB.
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:45 am
Anthony Becht explained that in the first half the Brown’s had a lot of penalties and self destructed. In the 2nd half, they made less mistakes and scored.
It’s one game against a bad team.
Hold off on your playoff plans.
October 22nd, 2018 at 11:51 am
will one of you trade him folks please answer this
what gm will give up a valuable draft pick for an ALWAYS Injured, IN DECLINE, Old, career loser with rumors of him being a high maintenance baby. yeah that sounds like a kick arse deal… they will all be lining up to give away picks for that. other gms care about their jobs and futures they are not giving anything up for that bum. bucs are the only ones who overpay for clowns.
when was the last time an always injured 30 yr old dt was traded for HIGH pick… or any damn pick…. Maybe a 5th or 6th max for her. Unless of course Gruden would like to accelerate the destruction of Raiders which is very well possible given his love of washed up bums who are overpaid.
gruden is tampa’s only hope for getting any compensation for the face of the basement years.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:07 pm
Hey Softie93……..
Don’t make me laugh!
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:11 pm
Lakeland
you seem pissed the defense played better….lol….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:32 pm
It’s a bit early for that talk. The browns, although much improved, are still a young inexperienced team. They made a lot of mistakes and kept the helped the Bucs offense stay alive. Defense was much improved , good to see.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:33 pm
*whoops wrong thread.😅
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:35 pm
The difference yesterday was no McCoy. You’ll see when he returns and this defense returns to being rotten. Addition by subtraction.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:40 pm
Lots of uninformed fans. The defense played a lot different in the second half because your starting middle linebacker was injured. Vea is a totally different player than GMC. Wait until the guy gets back before you pass judgment.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:43 pm
Smitty was the problem with our defense! Likewise our Offensive Line is still a major problem and are not opening holes nor protecting Jameis. Warhop is that culprit and our OL has been terrible every year because of him. If Koetter wants that to change he has to get rid of Warhop immediately and stop buying Warhop’s endless excuses.
October 22nd, 2018 at 12:58 pm
If this had been a Press Conference question from Jenna …… it would have been 3 paragraphs long.
October 22nd, 2018 at 1:34 pm
Oh Tampa fans. So absolutely nonsensical. The lack of education is apparent throughout all of Hillsborough County. I see it every single day.
To say the bucs are better without him is ridiculous. Could he be great trade bait? Yeah maybe. But as long as he suits up in Tampa, he’s better to be playing than on the sideline. You don’t get that many Pro Bowls without being special.
“THE DEFENSE BETTER IT WAS MCCOY’S FAULT!!!!!”
Yeah clearly he was the only significant factor that changed. Couldn’t be a new defensive coordinator or anything. Couldn’t be that.
Ffs Florida is full of simps
October 22nd, 2018 at 1:34 pm
813bucboi
I’m just being realistic
Remember I was on board with Mike Smith during that 5 game streak
While everyone here was hollering extension
October 22nd, 2018 at 1:35 pm
**I wasn’t on board with extending Mike Smith
October 22nd, 2018 at 1:39 pm
LakeLandBuc Says:
January 2nd, 2017 at 12:43 pm
People keep saying how much the Bucs defense improved under Mike Smith. Actually the defense gave up more total yards than last season. What improve was the PTS/G. Last season we gave up 26.1 compared to the 23.1. A three point difference, that’s not a significant improvement. We improved from 6-10 to 9-7 but that credit goes to Dirk Koetter, not Mike Smith.
***I don’t believe in ONE GAME WONDERS***
*** Or a 5 game stretch***
*** They have to do it for 16 games before I give them props***
October 22nd, 2018 at 1:42 pm
Our Dline won us the game IMO……but aside from that I really like how solid Carlton Davis looks. If he keeps it up or not even going to hear his name because no one’s going to want to throw towards him.
He did have the one pentalty in the endzone but he still played good coverage on that play and that was a close call that won’t always be flagged.
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:31 pm
The defense played better, but keep in mind they were playing a rookie QB, this should be a game where the defense looks good. With that said Mayfield looks pretty good for a rookie and the big thing was he got better as the game went along. Then again he was playing a truly terrible defense missing even more starters than usual and still couldn’t get it done. I think his size and physical abilities will limit his upside, but he’s about the same size as Steve Young, so perhaps it won’t be an issue.
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:39 pm
I brought up the zone blitzing before the game the other day. Had a feeling it was coming. No reason not to try multiple things. One reason it worked is because Cleveland didnt see it on tape. Amazing what can happen when the other team doesnt know whats coming. Looking forward to seeing Duffner adjust as teams learn his tendencies. He sure did great yesterday all things considered.
October 22nd, 2018 at 2:56 pm
Lakeland
I hear ya…..its 1game….lets see if we can handle Dalton, green and mixon….
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
October 22nd, 2018 at 3:17 pm
Darin – Also the corners, for the most part, weren’t doing things like playing 15 yards off the LOS on 3rd and 4, like stupid Mike Smith had them doing every game. Give your defenders a chance to at least get in the way a bit rather than making it super easy for QBs to toss out to a wide open WR who picks up 8 yards before the defenders can even get to them.
October 22nd, 2018 at 3:22 pm
Raiders are having a fire sale. Amari Cooper traded to Dallas for a 1st. Bucs need to make some moves before trade deadline.